Numerous decorating techniques are known in the art, some of which include the application of a label onto a hollow article to be decorated. One of the techniques which is desirable in this type of decorating is the usage of a heat transferable label which includes a decorative predetermined design thereon and may thus be transferred onto the article or container being decorated.
The heat transfer process permits for multicolored designs to be applied to a container in a single operation. The heat transfer process involves the use of a release-coated carrier upon which the design to be transferred is printed. The design is transferred from the web-like carrier to the container generally by using a combination of heat and pressure. The principal advantage of the heat transfer technique is that multicolored designs of an infinite variety may be applied to a container.
Because of the heat requirements associated with the release and application of the label from the web onto the container, it has been generally accepted practice to maintain the container in a stationary position, albeit rotatable in the instances of circular containers, during the decorating step. This has resulted in numerous prior art types of apparatus which employ intermittently moving mechanisms which include one to engage and deposit a container at a decorating station. Yet another mechanism engages the container at a decorating station. This latter mechanism must permit relative movement between the container and die to facilitate application of the label onto the container to be decorated. Once the container has been decorated it is removed from the decorating station by yet another mechanism and conveyed to another destination. Each of these functions has required numerous types of moving parts and mechanisms to impart the desired motion and transfer of the container to and from a decorating station.
Because of the intermittent movement associated with such systems, the speed of decoration has been limited. The various movements have curtailed operating speeds and placed heat transfer labeling systems in a limited and low rate of production category.
Other prior art heat transfer label systems have been devised which overcome the disadvantages of these machines and provide for a system wherein articles are decorated in a continuous manner.
FIGS. 1–4 show various perspective views of a heat transfer labeling machine of the prior art. The article to be decorated by the depicted heat transfer labeling apparatus is illustrated in the form of an irregular shaped container 10. The container 10 is moved in the direction of the arrow (FIG. 1) to a decorating station indicated generally at 20 at which a label 11 is applied. Label 11 is carried to decorating station 20 by a release coated carrier web 12 which includes thereon a plurality of spaced labels 11 and registration marks 13 disposed between labels on the top portion of web 12.
Container 10 is conveyed toward the decorating station 20 by an endless belt 21 which passes over drive wheels 22 and 23. Mounted within the endless belt 21 is a vacuum chamber 24 which has its upper surface in engagement with the inside portion of the belt 21. Disposed in the center of the belt 21 are a plurality of spaced apertures 25 which permit a vacuum to be applied to the bottom of the container 10 thus holding and stabilizing the container during conveyance. Disposed adjacent to the end portion of belt 21 is a feedscrew 26 which has a pitch suitable for engagement with the particular size container 10. The container 10 is engaged by the threaded portion of screw 26 and fed to a receptacle holding means 30. To facilitate feeding of container 10 into receptacle holding means 30, is a horizontal transfer plate 31 disposed at the end of belt 21 to assist in transposing the container from the conveyor belt 21 into the receptacle 30.
Receptacles 30 are fastened to an endless chain 32 which is driven over sprockets 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 and 38. Chain 32 is a link type to which the receptacle 30 is fastened. Receptacle 30 consists of split halves 39 and 39a (FIG. 1) which have a deep dish contour which substantially matches the bottom portion of the container 10 being decorated. The container 10 is fed by feedscrew 26 into the receptacle 30 with the leading bottom edge of the container engaging the leading or forward half 39 of the receptacle 30 (see FIG. 1). As the container moves forward and while still engaged with the feedscrew 26, chain 32 moves over sprocket 37 with the trailing half 39a of the receptacle 30 moving up and into holding engagement with the bottom of the container 10.
While the lower portion of container 10 is being moved into receptacle 30, the upper open portion of the container is moved into engagement with a cup-shaped inflating nozzle 40. A plurality of spaced nozzles 40 are fastened to a timing belt 41 which passes over gears 42, 43, 44 and 45, each of which has external teeth matching those provided on the interior of timing belt 41. Also, drive gears 46 and 47 (FIG. 1) engage timing belt 41 and are mounted in adjustable support members 48 which permit adjusting the tension of timing belt 41. The remaining gears 42 through 45 are suitably mounted in bushings 49. Disposed between the upper and lower portions of timing belt 41 is a manifold 50 to facilitate inflating container 10 while at the decorating station 20.
A plurality of cup-shaped nozzles 40 are spaced from one another on timing belt 41 and include a container engaging portion 51. (FIG. 1) The center portion of cup 51 is recessed and of a size compatible for engaging the top opening of the container 10. Cup 51 is preferably fabricated from a nylon material. Bushing 52 is threaded into the center of cup portion 51 and serves to fasten the cup to timing belt 41. In order to permit passage of the rearward extending portion of bushing 52, gears 42–47 are recessed and do not engage the center portion of timing belt 41 which is similarly recessed. Bushing 52 has a circular shaped rearwardly extending portion which has a diameter just slightly less than the width of a groove provided in the lower portion of manifold 50. In this manner, the groove serves as a guide when timing belt 41 is in engagement with the lower portion of manifold 50. Air is thus permitted to enter the container 10 while at the decorating station 20.
Supports 66 are provided for guiding the containers 10 as they travel on input and exit conveyors 21 and 60. Also, when only one side of a container is being decorated further support may be provided for containers 10 while at the decorating station by providing a vertically oriented endless belt 29 for engaging and supporting the side of the bottle not being decorated.
Once the container leaves decorating station 20, at which label 11 was applied, it is routed onto exit conveyor 60. A vacuum chamber 61 is also disposed between the upper and lower surfaces of conveyor belt 60 which is driven about wheel 62 and a similar one disposed at the other end thereof. Belt 60 contains slots 63 in the center portion thereof to permit the application of a vacuum to the lower portion of the container 10. Container 10 is discharged from the receptacle 30 as the leading portion 39 moves downward and out of engagement with container 10 after the receptacle passes over sprocket 34. While the trailing half 39a of the receptacle 30 is still in engagement with the container, the forward portion of container 10 is moved onto plate 65 which is disposed between endless chain 32 and exit conveyor 60. While on plate 65, movement of container 10 is controlled by the trailing container which tends to push the container onto plate 65 and then conveyor 60. As the receptacle 30 drops out of engagement with the container, inflating nozzle 40 is similarly disengaged from the open top portion of container 10. As each nozzle 40 passes over gear 43, it is moved in an upward direction towards the next pulley 42. This thus causes the recessed portion of nozzle 40 to lift out of engagement from container 10. The decorated bottle which exits from conveyor 60 is then ready for filling or other further processing. It is noted that the speeds obtainable with the heat transfer labeling apparatus of this invention (over 200 labels per minute) make the equipment suitable to serve as an in-line piece of equipment along with filling machines and associated equipment.
The drive system for the various conveyors will be described with particular reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. A variable speed DC drive motor 70 is provided in each module to drive the article and label moving members. Motor 70 is continuously operated and as required, engaged and disengaged from the drive system by means of a clutch 70a. The output of drive motor 70 is transmitted to a mechanical speed controller gear box 71 by means of chain and sprocket drive 72. Output from the mechanical gear box 71 drives a web metering roll 73, the output drive shaft including thereon a clutch-brake 74. Another output from the drive motor 70 is coupled by chain and sprocket drive 75 to gear box 76. Also, by means of chain and sprocket coupling 77 which is connected to a right angle gear box 78, drive motor 70 is mechanically coupled to a similar drive motor of an adjacently spaced module. The adjacently spaced module is identical to the one herein described and as will be described later, is utilized to decorate two sides of the same article. Sprocket 79 is mechanically connected to a similar sprocket on an adjacent module, thus providing a direct mechanical linkage of the DC drive motors 70.
Output shaft 80 from the gear box 76 drives the transfer roller cams 81 and 81a mounted on a common shaft by means of the chain and sprocket drive 82. Cams 81 and 81a, and the manner in which they serve to drive the label transfer rollers, will be more fully described hereinafter. Another chain and sprocket drive 83, connected to output shaft 80, drives gear box 84 which in turn has its output driving the chain and sprocket 85. Shaft 86 is driven at one end by chain and sprocket 85 while another chain and sprocket drive 87 is thereby driven to provide an input drive to gear box 90 which in turn is employed to drive the various conveying mechanisms. In this respect, shaft 91 in addition to driving gear box 90 has its output at the other end coupled to the feedscrew 26 via chain and sprocket drives 92 and 93. The conveyor 21 is driven by drive wheel 22 which is driven from one output of the gear box 90 by means of chain and sprocket drives 94 and 95. Gear 43 drives the inflating nozzle timing belt 41 with gear 43 being driven by the same output from gear box 90 as is sprocket 34 for driving receptacle chain 32. Sprocket 34 for chain link belt 32 is driven by the chain and sprocket drive 96 coupled to the output from gear box 90 whereas gear 43 is driven therefrom via chain and sprocket drives 97 and 98. Also driven from the same output of gear box 90 is discharge conveyor belt 60 which is driven by the chain and sprocket 96 which in turn is coupled to the chain and sprocket 99 which drives the chain and sprocket 100. Thus is provided a synchronized conveying system for continuously carrying articles 10 through the apparatus with the various speeds regulated while driven from a single source.
Further driven from the same DC variable drive motor 70 is the label carrying web 12. A control panel 101 is provided on the module to regulate the speed of the motor 70 which as previously mentioned, drives the web metering roller 73 through the clutch-brake 74 and gear box 71. Transfer roller cams 81 and 81a are driven directly from the main motor via gear box 76, shaft 80 and chain and sprocket drive 82 which is connected to shaft 102. The output of shaft 102 also drives shaft 103 through the chain and sprocket arrangement 104. Tachometer 103a, driven off shaft 103, reads the operating speed of the machine and provides a visual display on module panel 101.
The supply of new labels is provided on supply wheel 110, the dispensing of which is regulated by metering roll 73. The web 12 as it is unwound from supply reel 110 passes over idler roller 111 and then over dancer roll 112, the operation of which will be more fully described below. The web next is routed to feed roller 113 and then into the web metering roller 73 adjacent to which a photocell 122 is disposed. Photocell 122 is disposed to be in a position capable of reading registration marks 13 and thus control the web feed speed. Web 12 encircles web metering roller 73 and is fed therefrom through pinch roller 114 over adjustable roller 115. The supply of labels on web 12 is fed by the metering roller 73 which has pinch roller 114 adjusted so as to press against it with the feed dispensed by the metering roll 73 being regulated by an associated brake 73a. Metering roll 73 also has an electric clutch-brake 74 which is activated by a photocell (not shown) disposed adjacent the decorating station 20 which in turn determines the presence or absence of a container at the decorating station. Thus, if no article is present to be decorated, clutch 74 disengages metering roller 73 and terminates feeding of web 12.
Adjustable roller 115 is manually movable in slot 116 by means of the rotatable handle 117. This manual adjustment permits for approximate label positioning on the container prior to operation of the machine.
The web being fed by metering roller 73 next passes over idler rollers 125, 126, 127 and 128 and is then routed to pass over the elongated preheat plate 130 which is electrically maintained at a temperature of approximately 200° F. In addition, radiant heater 129, also referred to as a “platen,” is disposed facing the opposite face of the web 11 so as to further preheat the label prior to arrival at the decorating station 20. The platen temperature is typically 300–400° F. At decorating station 20 are disposed a pair of heated transfer rollers 131 and 132 which are adapted to facilitate transfer of the label 11 onto article 10. Transfer roller 131 has the outer label engaging surface formed of a silicone rubber material of 35 durometer hardness which is heated to a surface temperature of approximately 130°–250° F. The interior of transfer roller 131 is iron oxide filled to provide suitable conductivity. In this manner, transfer roller 131 is maintained at a temperature sufficient to cause transfer of the label 11 to the article 10. Transfer roller 132 is metallic, preferably copper, having a layer of chrome plating on the surface. Transfer roller 132 is heated to a surface temperature of approximately 500°600° F. so as to effect release of the label II from the web 12.
The transfer rollers 131 and 132 are each pivotally mounted and in operative engagement with cams 81 and 81a so as to sequentially regulate movement of the transfer rollers into and out of engagement with the article 10 as it arrives at decorating station 20. Cams 81 and 81a are mounted on a common shaft 102 which as previously mentioned is driven directly from the drive motor 70.
Transfer roller 131 is mounted in heated housing 133 which is pivotally mounted at 134. A cam follower 135 in engagement with upper cam 81 controls the article engaging and disengaging movement of the roller 131. A spring 136, urges transfer roller 131 and heated housing 133 out of engagement from article 10 except when moved into engagement by means of cam 81. Transfer roller 132 is similarly pivotally mounted at 137 and has spring 138 urging the roller out of engagement from web 12. A cam follower 139, coupled to transfer roller 132, engages lower cam 81a which thus controls movement of the metallic transfer roller 132.
Web 12 as it leaves decorating station 20 passes over idler rollers 150, 151 and 152. The web next passes over dancer roll 153 and then over idler roller 154 onto the rewind reel 155. Disposed adjacent the rewind reel 155 and beneath dancer roll 153 is a proximity switch 156, a similar switch 157 being disposed adjacent supply reel 110 and beneath dancer roll 112.
A constant amount of drag is imparted to the label supply wheel 110 by means of the dancer roll 112 and associated proximity switch 157. Specifically, dancer roll 112 is mounted to pivot about shaft 160 which has mounted at its base an arm member 161 which is movable over proximity switch 157. A spring 163 urges dancer roll 112 in a direction of maximum extension of the carrier web length from the supply wheel 110, i.e. in a position furthest away from the source of supply as measured along the web travel path. Disposed beneath arm member 161 is a magnetically activated proximity switch 157 which in turn regulates the degree of braking applied by brake 165 which is mounted on the web supply shaft 166. Potentiometer 167 is connected to web supply brake 165 and may be manually regulated to initially set the desired degree of braking. Subsequently, the movement of dancer roll 112 exerts a substantially constant force or drag on the web supply wheel 110.
A similar proximity switch 156 is provided for the rewind label roller 155. In this connection, dancer roll 153 includes a similar arm disposed over proximity switch 156. Proximity switch 156 however, is connected to clutch 170 which controls movement of take up reel 155 as will be more fully described hereinafter.
Rewind wheel 155 is driven directly by DC motor 70 through gear box 76. In this respect, output shaft 80 of gear box 76 is coupled to clutch 170 by means of the chain and sprocket drive 171. The output from clutch 170 is coupled to the rewind reel 155 by means of the chain and sprocket drive 172 (FIG. 4).
The path of travel of label carrying web 12 is traced. Initially the web exits from the label supply wheel 110 and passes over idler roller 111. Dancer roll 112, which is movable from the solid position to the dotted position, maintains a substantially constant drag on label supply wheel 110 by means of brake 165. After passing over dancer roll 112, the web is routed to metering roll 73 disposed adjacent to photocell 122. Feed of the web 12 is regulated by metering roll 73 which in turn is responsive to a signal from photocell 122 disposed adjacent thereto. As mentioned, metering roller 73 meters the web supply and is driven directly by the electric drive motor 70 via clutch 74 and the associated brake 73a. 
After being dispensed from metering roll 73, the web then is routed over the adjustable roller 115 and then over idler rollers 125, 126, 127 and 128 and over preheater 130. Web 11 is next routed through the decorating station 20 at which point label 11 is applied to container 10. As mentioned, transfer roller 131 and 132 are operated in timed relation with respect to the registration marks with the transfer rollers moving sequentially into and out of engagement with the container 10 responsive to the movement of cams 81 and 81a. In this manner, exact registration is achieved and decoration of the container accomplished with the labels capable of being applied in a predetermined location with respect to the position of the seam.
Prior to the initial operation of the machine, adjustment screw 117 is employed to adjust the positioning of the label 12 with respect to the positioning of the conveyors. As mentioned, rotation of screw 117 causes a forward or rearward movement of roller 115 thus adjusting the label position at decorating station 20. Once manual adjustment is completed, automatic operation is maintained by means of the photocell 122 reading registration marks 13 as previously described.
A stepping motor is provided with its output shaft 180 coupled to gear box 71 by means of the chain and sprocket drive 181. Signals provided to the stepping motor, such as from photocell 122 thus provide for automatic web speed regulation.
Exemplary heat transfer decorating machines include the DI-NA-CAL® Model 700 heat transfer labeling machine, the DI-NA-CAL® Model 2400 heat transfer labeling machine and the DI-NA-CAL® Model 720 heat transfer labeling machine, all manufactured by Smurfit-Stone Container, Corp, DI-NA-CAL® Label Group, located in Cincinnati, Ohio.
More detail regarding the prior art heat transfer labeling machine described above may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,105, entitled “ARTICLE INFLATING SYSTEM,”, issued Dec. 25, 1979 to Harvey and assigned to Diamond International Corp., now owned by the assignee of the present application; U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,569, entitled “HEAT TRANSFER LABELING MACHINE,”, issued Dec. 16, 1980 to Harvey and assigned to Diamond International Corp., now owned by the assignee of the present application; U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,856, entitled “HEAT TRANSFER LABELING MACHINE,”, issued Jun. 30, 1981 to Harvey and assigned to Diamond International Corp., now owned by the assignee of the present application; U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,519, entitled “ARTICLE SUPPORT SYSTEM,”, issued Sep. 22, 1981 to Harvey and assigned to Diamond International Corp., now owned by the assignee of the present application; U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,197, entitled “CONTINUOUS MOTION ROUND BOTTLE TURRET,”, issued Feb. 21, 1989 to Harvey and assigned to Dinagraphics, Inc., now owned by the assignee of the present application; U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,293, entitled “CONTINUOUS MOTION BOTTLE DECORATING APPARATUS,”, issued Jul. 2, 1991 to Harvey and assigned to Dinagraphics, Inc., now owned by the assignee of the present application; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,689, entitled “PROCESS AND DEVICE FOR DECORATING PACKAGES WITH CONVEX SURFACES,” issued Aug. 8, 2000 to Fiwek, all of which are herein incorporated by reference.
As can be seen, the prior heat transfer decorating machines are complicated machines which are difficult to install and difficult to maintain. For example, the centrally driven transmission system of the above disclosed heat transfer decorating machine drives all of the major movable mechanical elements from a central motor with the motive force of the central motor distributed to the various elements via a complex network of drive shafts, pulleys, belts and gears. While this arrangement reduces costs by reducing the number of required drive motors and associated control and power requirements, such an arrangement makes initially setting and maintaining synchronization among all of the movable elements difficult and resource intensive. Further, the number of intervening parts between the motor and driven mechanical element introduces inaccuracies and imprecision into the movements of these mechanical elements, limiting the overall speed of the machine, and resulting in a lesser-quality final product, i.e. less accurate label placement.
Further, while product manufacturers would prefer to have a flexible decorating machine that they can use for different package configurations, such as labeling different size containers, the difficulties in modifying the prior decorating machines and their centralized power transmission system reduces the cost effectiveness of such a use. In addition, many of the parts of the above machine are carefully tailored to the package configuration being labeled. Re-configuring the decorating machine for a different package configuration is resource intensive process, often involving tearing the machine apart to replace non-adjustable configuration dependent parts, adjust configurable parts and synchronize and fine tune the machine back to an operating status. Such a process often resulted in machine downtime of over 8 hours in addition to the operator labor involved. In modern industries that require hundreds of packages to be labeled every minute, such downtime represents an intolerable waste of resources.
For example, changing the above mentioned model 700 decorating machine from one article configuration to another, requires the following steps (depending upon the differences between the two article configurations, one or more of the following steps may not need to be performed):
Beginning with the machine running package A and changing over to package B:
1. The operator first turns the gating screw switch to the OFF position to stop the inflow of articles into the in-feed section. The operator then allows the remaining product A articles in process to complete and the machine will cycle stop;                2. The operator turns OFF the flamers;        3. The Operator then switches the machine to MANUAL mode;        4. The operator then jogs the machine to move the heel cup chain master link to an accessible location. This permits the heel cup chain to be disconnected and removed;        5. The operator then turns the machine power OFF;        6. The label/web material is then removed from both web modules;        7. The gating screw drive belt guard is removed;        8. The gating screw drive belt is removed;        9. The gating screw is removed and the drive shaft is removed from the screw;        10. The gating screw support frame is removed from conveyor and the standoff spacers are exchanged. The support frame is then re-installed on the conveyor;        11. The drive shaft is installed in the new gating screw and the new gating screw is installed into the support frame for product B;        12. The gating screw drive belt is reinstalled;        13. The in-feed conveyor guide rails are moved into position for Product B.        
Performance of steps 1–13 may take approximately 30 minutes;                14. The in-feed screw drive belt guard is then removed;        15. The in-feed screw drive belt is removed;        16. The in-feed screw is removed and the drive shaft is removed from the screw;        17. The guards from around both web modules are then removed;        18. The drive belt linking the two web module drive motors is disconnected;        19. The bolts securing the left hand web module to the tooling conveyor frame are removed;        20. The left hand web module is moved away from the tooling conveyor frame;        21. The hand wheels used to adjust the height of the upper tooling conveyor frame are removed;        22. The guard covering the upper tooling conveyor frame is removed;        23. The belt driving the upper tooling conveyor is removed;        24. The driven pulley for the drive belt driving the upper tooling conveyor is removed;        
Performance of steps 14–24 may take approximately 30 minutes;                25. The upper tooling conveyor's right side horizontal frame member is removed;        26. The nozzle belt for product A is removed from the upper tooling conveyor frame;        27. The drive and driven pulleys for the nozzle belt from Product A are removed;        28. The drive and driven pulleys for nozzle belt for Product B are then installed;        29. The nozzle belt for Product B is installed;        30. The upper tooling conveyor's right side horizontal frame member is then re-installed;        31. The driven pulley for the drive belt driving the upper tooling conveyor are installed;        
Performance of steps 25–31 may take approximately 3 hours;                32. The heel cup drive belt is removed from the right angle gearbox to the heel cup chain drive pulley;        33. The drive and driven pulleys for the heel cup drive belt are removed;        34. The heel cup chain for Product A is broken apart/split at the master link permitting the heel cup chain to be removed from the lower tooling conveyor;        35. The in-feed and exit dead plates are removed;        36. The heel cup chain drive and driven sprockets are removed from the lower tooling conveyor;        37. The heel cup chain drive and driven sprockets for Product B are installed;        38. The drive and driven sprockets for the belt driving the heel cup chain are installed;        39. The heel cup chain for product B is installed;        40. The in-feed and exit dead plates for product B are installed;        41. The belt driving the heel cup chain is installed;        42. The upper tooling conveyor is then moved to the approximate operating height for Product B using manually adjustable jack-screws located on either side of the upper tooling conveyor;        43. The drive belt for the upper tooling conveyor is installed;        
Performance of steps 32–43 may take approximately 3 hours;                44. The platen cam for product A is removed from each web module;        45. The shuttle cam for product A is removed from each web module;        46. The shuttle cam for product B is installed on each web module;        47. The platen cam for product B is installed on each web module;        48. The change gears and swing gears for product A are removed from each web module;        49. The change gears and swing gears for product B are installed on each web module;        
Performance of steps 44–49 may take approximately 30 minutes;                50. The guard on the upper tooling conveyor frame is installed;        51. The hand wheels used to ad just the height of the upper tooling frame are installed;        52. The left hand web module is moved back into position with the center tooling frame and attached to center tooling frame;        53. The drive shaft for the in-feed screw for Product B is inserted into the screw and the screw is installed;        54. The drive belt for the in-feed screw is installed;        55. The drive belt linking the two web module drive motors is connected;        56. The guards are installed around both web modules;        
Performance of steps 50–56 may take approximately 30 minutes;                57. Power to the machine is turned on;        58. The heel cup chain mechanical zero position is set;        59. The nozzle belt to adjusted to align with the heel cups;        60. The height of the upper tooling frame is set using two product B bottles placed in the heel cups using adjustable jack-screws located at each end of the upper tooling frame set;        61. The in-feed screw is timed to the heel cups;        62. The shuttle and platen cams are timed to the heel cups;        63. Label web is threaded on the web modules;        64. Test labeling of some bottles is performed;        65. Shuttle cams, platen cams, label height and register positions are adjusted as needed;        66. In-feed and out-feed conveyor speeds are adjusted as needed;        67. Pre and post flaming is set up;        68. Test labeling of some bottles is performed to test for quality and adhesion;        69. Any adjustments are made as needed and retested;        70. The machine is set in AUTO and returned to production with product B;        
Performance of steps 57–70 may take approximately 30 minutes; Total Performance time: 8.5 hours.
As can be seen, the above re-configuration process is extremely tedious and time consuming and prone to errors. Further, in order to perform a majority of steps, the operator would need at least the following tools: various screw drivers, various hex wrenches, various combination or open ended wrenches, pliers, a pry bar, a level and a hammer.
In addition, new packaging technologies are placing new demands on the heat transfer decorating machine. For example, in prior packaging techniques, the manufacturer of the containers was separate from the manufacturer who was buying and filling the containers (the “filler”) with a particular product. The manufacturer would manufacture the containers and ship them to the filler. The filler would then pass the containers through a heat transfer labeling machine, such as the machine described above, to label the containers. In regards to food products, the filler would then have to clean and disinfect the containers prior to filling them. Such a cleaning and disinfection process disadvantageously affected the product flavor and shelf life.
Modern food product manufacturers are now switching to a form of “aseptic” packaging wherein containers are manufactured and filled with the product in the same environmentally controlled area. This allows the manufacturer to avoid the cleaning and disinfection process, thereby significantly improving both product flavor and shelf life. Unfortunately, with aseptic packaging, the containers cannot be labeled prior to filling. In addition, the temperature of the containers and product within is typically very cold as the products must be refrigerated throughout the manufacturing and filling process to prevent spoilage. The labeling process must not significantly alter this temperature so as to adversely affect the product flavor or shelf life. Further, to maintain environmentally controlled conditions, the container labeling may be required to occur in the same environmentally controlled area as where the container manufacturing and filling take place.
Accordingly, there is a need for a heat transfer labeling machine which is capable of being easily and quickly configured to label multiple package configurations. In addition, there is a need for heat transfer labeling machine which does not use a centralized power transmission. Further, there is a need for a heat transfer labeling machine which is capable of labeling filled and, potentially, chilled containers in both controlled and uncontrolled environments.